26 November 2012 12:04 PM

Real News bulletin about the Middle East (ctd)

Springtime for
Morsi

Democracy demonstrators
have been clashing with police on the streets of Cairo now for three days
in protest at the assumption by Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi of dictatorial
powers. Of course, when they last took to the streets against President Mubarak
and his dictatorial powers, US President Obama and UK Prime Minister
Cameron helped get rid of him. So now that Morsi has become a dictator the
Egyptian masses can expect them to do the same, yes? Er no, of course not – because
Obama and Cameron helped put Morsi into power.

So what have they said now that Springtime for Morsi
has become Winter for Egyptian Democracy? Are they embarrassed about what they’ve
done? Are they contrite about the mess they’ve made and the danger they’ve so
massively increased for the west by helping install the Muslim
Brotherhood, which aims to destroy the west, in a country with enormous strategic
importance for the west?

On the BBC TV Andrew Marr show
this morning, the UK Foreign Secretary Dr Pangloss William Hague showed
his massive grasp of these geopolitical implications by breezily waving all
this away saying well, there’s bound to be a few setbacks but we must keep
faith with the Egyptian movement for democracy and the Arab Spring is still on
course. Which is about as brazen as you can get in trying to pretend that black
is white. What Hague really wanted to say instead was that what all this showed
was that it was even more important than ever before to get the Israel-Palestinian
peace process back on track, because that was absolutely fundamental to
absolutely everything.

So reassuring that Britain’s Foreign Secretary has such
a grip on reality.

As for Obama, all his administration has said about its
Egyptian protégé springing into dictator mode is something about the need
to resolve differences peacefully and democratically. As the Egyptian masses
riot, Obama has not condemned this snuffing out of their freedoms.

So when it’s an Egyptian dictator who is a kind of ally
of the west, Obama and Cameron say he’s an obstacle to democracy and human
rights and get rid of him. When it’s an Egyptian dictator who supports the
Muslim Brotherhood and the extinction of democracy and human rights by a
theocratic tyranny, the Arab Spring is still on course to achieve democracy.

Question of the moment, of course, is whether Obama
knew Morsi was about to do this before Hillary Clinton anointed Morsi as
Keeper of the Hamas Ceasefire. Because it looks awfully as if there was some
kind of quid pro quo here – you know, like ‘I’ll keep Hamas quiet for a while,
Barack, just so’s you can twist Netanyahu’s arms out of his sockets and call
off his invasion provided you turn a blind eye to the fact that I’m now going to
become a tyrant, thanks so much’. And if that wasn’t what happened, then you
might think Obama would now be pretty sore that Morsi has made him look either
a lethally dangerous idiot or else a lethally dangerous Brotherhood sympathiser
(perish either thought).

But now Morsi is saying he’s only going to be a dictator
for a little while, until Egypt gets its new constitution. So that’s all right
them.

A strategic
game-changer?

Various folk have observed that Israel’s Iron Dome
missile defence system is a military game-changer, altering the strategic
balance between Israel and the countries that want to exterminate it. This piece
by Akiva Hamilton in the Jerusalem Post is particularly informative and
sharp. He says that Iron Dome defends not just against short range missiles but
is already well on the way to achieving what a further medium-range missile defence
system aims to achieve, and with a very high and continually improving level of
accuracy.

Also, the supposedly prohibitive cost for Israel from
Iron Dome is actually far lower than is commonly thought – while the cost of
the missiles for those trying to murder Jews with them is ruinously high. Hamilton
writes:

‘The strategic implications are that the current
rocket-based terror strategy of Hamas and Hezbollah has been rendered both
ineffective and economically unsustainable. I estimate it is currently costing
Hamas (and thus its patron Iran) around $5m. (500 rockets at $10,000 each) to
murder a single Israeli. When Iron Dome reaches 95% interception rate these
figures will double and at 97.5% they will double again.

‘Moreover, most rockets miss and Iron Dome ignores
them. Indeed, this strategy will bankrupt Iran even more quickly than President
Reagan’s “Star Wars” missile defense strategy bankrupted the Soviet Union.’

Share this article:

Comments

You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post.

I don't think you said that Hamas were trying to negotiate a long-term ceasefire when their military chief was killed (as they were in 2008). also, that Hamas have since repeated their support for two-state along the Green Line (as in 2008). I don't think you have corrected your timeline or casualty figures. It may be that you have and I just haven't noticed - you have written so much.

Post a comment

Comments are moderated, and will not appear on this weblog until the moderator has approved them. They must not exceed 500 words. Web links cannot be accepted, and may mean your whole comment is not published.